Prof. Jhoanna Lynn Cruz of the Department of Humanities (most left, in the photo above) led a panel discussion entitled "Mindanao Fictions," at the Mindanao Book Fair on March 19, 2023, in her capacity as president of the Davao Writers Guild. Associate Prof. John Bengan (second from left), also of the Humanities department and author of "Armor," a collection of short stories, was joined by Elizabeth Joy Serrano-Quijano, author of "Dili Pwede Mogawas," a short story collection, and Jade Mark Capiñanes, author of "How to Grieve," prose collection. Prof. Cruz and the panelists discussed how their stories engage with re/writing Mindanao to help define Mindanaoan and/or Mindanawon literature. The panel was hosted by independent publisher Everything's Fine. The authors also accommodated book-signing requests. The public panel discussion addresses freedom of speech, social exclusion experiences, gender equality, and psychological well-being, among other ideas. 

View the discussion here: https://youtu.be/GGKRbg9tGeY

Chancellor Lyre Anni Murao (sixth from left) joined Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chairperson Maria Belen "Mabel" S. Acosta (fourth from left) on March 30, 2023, for the project launch of the "Sustainable Agricultural Environment Establishment through Durian Producer Organization in Mindanao, Philippines." The project was initiated by Rev. Lee, Chul Yong (fifth from left) of the Center for Asian Mission for the Poor (CAMP) and assisted by Ms. Cho, Buyoung (second from left). The Korea International Cooperation Agency supports the project.

The CAMP team of Rev. Lee and Ms. Cho visited UPMin on March 13, 2023 (in the photo below) in the company of MinDA's Mr. Sylvester Sales, Ms. Chrisel Sales of the University of Southern Mindanao, and Ms. Ronita Buenaventura of UNORKA-Mindanao (6th, 7th, and 8th from left, respectively). On that occasion, Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs Annabelle Novero (third from left) received the team, together with Joel Sagadal of the Land Reservation Management Office and Mr. Allan Villanueva of the Office of the Chancellor. The project addresses poverty alleviation, food security, the food supply chain, employment equity, and contributes to economic growth through partnerships.

Women working in the domains of information and communications technology and artificial intelligence will lead online discussions on the theme, "DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality" on 27 March 2023 through the Zoom online platform. Dr. Armacheska Rivero Mesa-Satina, director of UPMin’s Information and Technology Office, and Ms. Trisha N. Lopena, project officer of Sky Artificial Intelligence-Automated Labeling Machine-Large-Scale Initiative (SkAI-ALaM) are among the speakers. Dr. May Anne E. Mata of UP Mindanao will lead the discussion on “Bridging the Gap: Women Leading the Way for Rabies Research in Davao City with Digital Solutions.” Meanwhile, Asst. Prof. Kristine M. Adlaon from the University of Immaculate Conception will discuss “Exploring Gender Bias in Natural Language Processing and its Real World Application.” Interested participants may register through https://tinyurl.com/UPMinGenderResearchForum or watch live on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UPMinGAD.